<p>Well, in that case, let me quote one of my good friends (i seem to find this quote comes in handy a lot these days): "There seems to be a preponderance of snarky conservatives here."</p>
<p>Here's another quote that comes to mind:</p>
<p>
[quote]
"By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oscar WILDE always was a bit "snarky", if dead on.</p>
<p>haha, well I don't know if this logic applies for all of the journalism that goes on at dartmouth, but it certainly describes what i personally write - uneducated, elitist, misanthropic, and fully of angst and envy in the face of individuals and institutions that are far more successful than i am and don't care at all what i have to say about them.</p>
<p>it's seriously the best catharsis i've ever experienced in my life, and i wouldn't trade it for anything.</p>
<p>As a Dartmouth student, I do read both papers on a regular basis in order to see what each side has to say. While I may not agree with much of what the Review says (and I am neither a liberal nor a conservative), I do find that from a technical standpoint, they are probably the best-written paper. </p>
<p>Something that I wish people would realize, though, is that freedom of speech and the exchange of ideas should not be limited to viewpoints that one favors. With apologies to Voltaire (or whoever the quote should really be attributed to), I may disagree with what the Review (or the DFP) has to say, but I will vehemently defend their right to say it.</p>
<p>By no means is this a fundamental or serious problem at Dartmouth, however. There is always intellectual discussion waiting to be sought out, and plenty of people willing to hear out each other's ideas. I have a very liberal roommate and a very conservative friend who lives down the hall, and they are really good friends. It is always a pleasure to discuss politics with them, because they respect each other's opinions. There are many people like that all around campus.</p>
<p>Just my $0.02.</p>
<p>Besides the politics...do other intellectual discussions thrive as well?</p>
<p>I've recently been working on a paper that attempts to view a song called The Lost Song by this Australian band called Cat Empire through the lens of early 20th century American modernism in general and The Great Gatsby in particular. I've relied heavily on my friends (the same ones who I do the bulk of my drinking with) to provide both inspiration and guidance for this endeavor.</p>
<p>I'd say non-political intellectual discourse exists.</p>
<p>...what class is that for? don't tell me earth science.</p>
<ul>
<li>guess who.</li>
</ul>
<p>I really am a bit confused here: you are going to Ivy League. Ivy League is very intellectual. You are from an American high school. American high schools tend not to be very intellectual (compared to say, German gymnasiums or Italian lyceums). You are making the leap from a very un-intellectual environment to a very intellectual one. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT IT TO BE EVEN MORE INTELLECTUAL THAN YOU WOULD ALREADY FEEL? I TRANSFERRED INTO A VERY ACADEMIC HIGH SCHOOL AND IT ALREADY FEELS TOO INTELLECTUAL SOMETIMES. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?</p>
<p>I guess some people do want an intellectual atmosphere in college and that's why they apply to Dartmouth. Just a guess.</p>
<p>I would think that if they are that worried about the school being sufficiently intellectual they should go to Princeton or UChicago or Oberlin or Reed or something. Explore the inner nerd in you if you are so inclined. I am fine with that. But asking if Dartmouth is intellectual enough? Either the guy knows nothing about the Ivies being generally very intellectual, or something else. Either way, I just thought this to be an inconceivably stupid question.</p>
<p>This is the intellectual life at Dartmouth: </p>
<p>YouTube</a> - Drinkin' Time</p>
<p>omg that was the funniest thing I've seen. I wish i had been on that tour group. That video shows just how awesome Dartmouth is.</p>
<p>Intellectual life here is pretty weak, which IMO means that students work very hard to score good grades but do not do much beyond the syllabus. Then again, the same thing can be said about every other college... maybe except the great books ones (I've heard some good things about them; don't know how true though).</p>
<p>I would disagree with Gil--it's what you make of it. If you want to have an intellectual life, you can by all means have one: joining philosophy discussion groups, the World Affairs Council, Agora, etc. Some of the campus religious groups also have discussion groups based around philosophical and religious topics: the Episcopalians have regular discussions on modern science and ethics, the Catholics have discussions of Thomas Aquinas, faith, and reason, and Hillel hosts discussions on Judaism and contemporary society. </p>
<p>Add that to any number of lectures, dinners with lecturers, and so forth, and you can have an exceptionally strong international life if you so desire. Over my four years in Hanover, I had lunch or dinner with Thomas Pickering (former US Ambassador to Jordan, Nigeria, El Salvador, Israel, India, Russia, and the UN), Rita Colwell (former head of the National Science Foundation), Arden Bement (current NSF head), historian Richard Reeves, Pulitzer Prize winner David Shipler, Oliver Sacks, Nobel Prize winner Sidney Altman, Carol Moseley Braun, Howard Dean, economist Hernando de Soto, and far more. </p>
<p>So you can clearly have an intellectual life at Dartmouth--but it's what you make of it.</p>
<p>Okay. So. </p>
<p>People need to calm down. It's an Ivy league so obviously it's "intellectual" but think what you want. I'm not even going to bother to name the enormous list of things that can be regarded as "intellectual."</p>
<p>If you really don't think that it is...then you're probably not Dartmouth material, right?</p>
<p>Ps- the drinking time video is hilarious, but that's what it is, a humorous poke at Dartmouth made by the head of one of the comedy groups here. He's a great guy.</p>
<p>Just another example that those who 'party' can be intellectual too:</p>
<p>One of the fraternities gathers once a week, cooks a home-made dinner, and invites a different prof each week to get to know them better. Their goal is to forge even more connections with their teachers. It goes without saying that there is intellectual discourse that goes on when discussing and debating with a professor on his/her field of study (and more).</p>
<p>This autumn, the Dartmouth College Film Society is featuring movies such as "The Matrix" (Keanu Reeves).</p>
<p>This could make us all think that Dartmouth College is a school of frat boys who say "whoa!" inside and outside the classroom. I'm a Dartmouth College alumnus (Class of 2000); kids will actually be talking about the neuroscience-fiction themes in "The Matrix" inside and outside the classroom.</p>
<p>I was a frat boy so I did my share of "whoa"-ing. However, I'm also educated in the work of David Hume, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Steven Spielberg. At Dartmouth, you can be a party animal, a philosopher, or a pianist. The intellectual FREEDOM is there at least.</p>
<p>Most Dartmouth College alums end up working for Washington or Wall Street. I would compare Dartmouth to Princeton (in its earlier days, you could compare Dartmouth to Yale).</p>
<p>I still do my share of "whoa"-ing. One of my favorite movies is "Superman II" (Christopher Reeve).</p>